Electronic amplifying systems



April 16, 1957 J. TAEB ELECTRONIC AMPLIFYING SYSTEMS Filed March 5l, 1952 :D llllllll Il United States Patent-O ELECTRONIC AMPLIFYING SYSTEMS Joseph Taeb, Paris, France, assignor to Commissariat a lEnergie Atomique, Paris, France, a corporation of France Application March 31, 1952, Serial No. 279,665

Claims priority, application France April 7, 1951 4 Claims. (Cl. 179-171) The present invention concerns electronic amplifiers and more particularly low frequency amplifiers for the amplifying of low currents supplied by a source with a high internal resistance. y

It is known that electronic amplifiers amplify, together with the input signal introduced as a voltage or as a current, parasite currents or voltages called noises. In the case of low frequency amplifiers designed for the amplification of low currents supplied by a source with a high internal resistance, the input noise, expressed as a current, consists of two main terms, namely the grid current of the input tube of the amplifier, or its fiuctua-A tions, according to the frequency band which is amplified, a term which, for a given frequency band, is independent of the value of the input resistor, and the thermal agitation noise in the input resistor, which appears as a current throughv said input resistor, a current which is inversely proportional to the square root of the value of that resistor.

In case of very low intensity signals being amplified, the signal/noise ratio may be too low to enable suitable discrimination of the output `signal from the noise. vThis offers a serious drawback, particularly in devices designed for detecting low intensity signals such as those resulting from the operation of a mass spectrograph or an ionization chamber for instance.

' One object of the present invention is to provide an improvement in low current amplifiers, which enables the signal/noise ratio to be improved in these amplifiers and,

consequently, their sensitivity increased. A

The input signal in such amplifiers is a current4 which is independent of the input resistance of the amplifier.

.On the contrary, as explained above, one of the two main terms concerning the input noise decreases when the value of said resistance increases.

The input signal/noise ratio and consequently the output ratiov in' low frequency amplifierscan thus be improved under the conditionof increasingthe input resist- .ance on the one hand and, on the other hand, of decreasing the grid current in the input tube and its iiuctuations by a suitable choice of the type of said tube, which decreases, at the same time, the two main terms of the input noise, without acting on the signal.

lf However, in case of an input circuit of a conventional "type being used, the increase in the input resistance determines an increase in the time constant of the input circuit, and therefore in the time necessary for the measurement. The increase in the value of the input resistance is thus limited by a consideration of the time which is necessary for measurements.

It may be shown that the use of a negative feedback circuit makes it possible to decrease the time constant of the input circuit which may be written provided 2) r %+co at will but that it remains without any terms C0 and I.

On the other hand, except for very rare exceptions,

the term F is much smaller than Co, and therefore smalle than gaat In order to substantially improve the signal/ noise ratio and therefore the sensitivity in an amplifier with a negative feedback circuit, by using an input resistance which is of a much higher value than in conventional amplifiers, without increasing, at the same time, in an linacceptable manner, the time constant of the input circuit, it is necessary, therefore, to decrease the value of the above mentioned Co term. The possibility of such decrease is limited only by the existence of the term 1 and the necessity of satisfying the Equation 2.

The improvementwhich is an object lof the present invention precisely provides this result, in reducing, to an extremely low value, the capacity across the terminals of the input resistor of the amplifier.

The invention fundamentally consists in arranging, around the input resistor of the amplifier andv in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said resistor, a plane grounded conducting screen, which is insulated with respect to the resistor. y

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, a thick screen or shield is used, resiliently suspended, for simultaneously supporting both the input resistor which perpendicularly passes through it, and the input tube of the amplifier. This shielding constitutes in itself a heavy base which decreases the microphonic effect in the amplifier.

The invention is described in greater detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is circuit diagram of an amplifier of theconventional type, comprising a negative feedback circuit;

Fig. 2 is a similar diagram of an amplifier improved according to the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a partial perspective view, of an'example of effect on the an embodiment of an amplifier according to the present invention; and

Fig. 4 is a partial vertical sectional view of the embodi- -ment of the amplifier shown in Fig. 3.

is obtained at the output terminals 5 thereof.

As explained above, lthe tern Cl A lin Equation l may be made zas small as desired, by determining the characteristics of amplifier 1 and .of the negative feedback circuit 2.. in such a mannerthat the gain A=n of the chain-fconsisting of the amplier l and the circuit 2 is suliiciently high with respect to C1.

'.'In theapparatuslaccording .to the invention. schematizcllyfshown linFig. 2,.'in which th'e'same reference nu- .'.meralsp'designatethe same members and elements as in Figli,aIatfgroundedlshieid 6, is arranged around the lresistor'S:perpendicularly to the-axis of :the latter. This .shieldfl-permits of the possibility oi practically reducing 'Ce'ito: zero.

Figs. 3 and 4 show'theinputelements of `an -ampii Vlier according to the invention. These elements are supported by two small pillars itl, connected yat their upper portions by an insulating plate 11, secured to the ends :of said ipillarsffby means fof screws 2and carrying the input terminal 13 of the amplifier. Saidterminal is con- '.nected-throughfa'conductor 14 to the input tube i5, which "is supportedsby ia'fthickiimetal lshield i5. in order to simplify the drawing, the inner elements and the circuit connections of tube 15 havenot been represented. in the vicinity of the edge of shield 1d there are provided two holes.17, diametrically opposite, through Vwhich pass Ithe Atwo Yscrew'threaded rods 25 supported at opposite `ends-by the'rpillars 10, Vthe shield 16 vbeing held in posi- `tion onthe latter by sponge rubber rings 18 which sur- Vround .the rods Y2S 4and establish end supports for oppositev faceszofI theshield :16. The'` shield '16 resiliently floats on Vthe rubberV rings 18. Said shield is grounded by a flexible conductor 19'which connects it to the ground ter- -minal of the amplifier.

The input resistance 20, connected, on the one hand, lthrougha conductor 21, to the rinput terminal 13 and, -Qn \the.other hand, through a conductor 22 to thefnega- Jtivesfeedback circuit,..not shown, is enclosed in aglass Y envelope 23 supported in acylindrical bore-24 in shield Shieldl ,constitutes atthe same time the shield acicordingtothe invention, for reducing to zero or to a minjimurn :the capacity -Ce across terminals of resistor 2%,

a shielding which perfectly insulates the input circuit `fronrithe other-:circuits of the amplier and in so doing, ,preventsithedisturbing actions of these circuitsfozi the 'input circuit: and :also'provides a heavy base ffor. tube 'ilStin-ewhich ther microphonicetect is thus decreased.

y.By way of example of anembodiment of the invention, .afvnegat-ive `feedbackl circuit'amplier has Vbeen used in which the total gain of the chain formed by the ampliiier -andffeedbackcircuit-wasequal to 500, the'input tube of fthefamplifier being a 954 tube mounted as a pentode, `thefusualprecautions.'having been taken in'order to pre- V ventdisturbingeffectsion ther input circuits.

:Withianfinputtresistorof'SOO MQ, the width of the pass band, withoutV a shield according tothe invention, -wasi-BOOzcyclesi per second, whereas with a set of the con- AVventionaltype':Without any negative feedback, it would have been of the order of cycles per second. By ar- Wranging faitscreenfinfaccordance vwith the invention, the width of the pass 'band'rhas-beenfextended to'6700` cycles V,per second, the total noise Iat the input, expressed as a current being (1.1) 1()-12 amp. R. M. S. value.

With a resistor of 10G() MQ it was possible, by arranging a shield according to the invention, to increase the width of the pass band from l0 cycles per second (conventional set), up to 4390 cycles per second, the total noise at the input being 10*12 ampere R. M. S. value.

What I claim is:

1. An electronic amplifying system for low currents, comprisingian ampliiier tubekhaving-an.inputgrid and an output circuit, a negative feedback circuit connected .between said output ,circuit and.said input grid, .a resistor interposed 'between said feedback circuit and said vinput grid, the said resistor being of very high ohrnic value and having a rectilinear longitudinal axis, a planeconductive shield, insulating supporting v4means connecting said resistor to said shield with said shield disposed around said resistor between/and spacedfrom the ends of said resistor, the plane of said shield being substantially perpendicular to .the axis of the saidV resistor, and means for connecting 'the said shield to earth.

f2. A11 electronic amplifying system for. low currents, comprising `an amplifier tube having aninput grid and an output circuit, a negative feedback circuit connected Ibetween said out-put circuit and said input grid, a resistor `interposed between lthe saidfee'dback circuit `and said input grid, said resistance 'being of very high ohmic value and having a rectilinear longitudinal axis, a plane `conductive shield disposed around and supporting said ampliiier tube, insulatingsupporting means connecting said resistor to said shield with -said shield disposed around said resistor and spaced from the-ends of said resistor, the plane of said shield :being substantially perpendicular to Vthe longitudinal axes of said resistor and said tube, and means for connecting the said shield to earth.

3.-An v.amplifying system as set forth in claim 2,

-in which the said plane conductive shield is resiliently supported in a chassis by means of elastic members.

4. An amplifyingsystem. as set forth in claim 2 and comprising .a chassis, vat least two .pillar members fast with said.chassisVelasticvmeansfor resiliently Supprting said tplane .conductive shield on said pillar members, said shield having an. aperture formed therein for iixing thereto the said resistor of very ,high value, with its axis perpendicular to the plane of said shield, said shield having a'second aperture formed therein for mounting thereinthe said amplifierA tube, having its input grid connection and its:output connections ou opposite sides of the said shield, means forconnecting'the Vsaidvinput grid tothe vterminal of said resistor located on the same sidetof vthe said shield as'the saidinput grid, means forinterposing a Lnegative feedback circuit betweensaid Voutput `circuit :and .the other terminal of said resistor, andmeans for connecting the said shield to earth.

ReferencesCited in the tile of this patent V,UNITED STATES PATENTS y1,798,012 Cohen et al Mar. 24, 1931 2,033,274 Burton Mar. 10, 1936 2,536,617 Welier Jau. 2, 1951 Y2,579,820 'Halleret al., Dec. 25,1951 2,598,259 Hogue May 27,',1952 25623996 Gray Dec.V 30, 1952 

